Pole and post



Dec. 10, 1935. u'rcl-u so 2,023,476

POLE AND POST Filed Sept. 24, 1932 F595 Fz'g' F197 15 r O O f @1 8 /I4' My 45 FY99 Fly/0 Patented Dec. 10, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application September 24, 1932, Serial No. 634,688 In Great Britain November 11, 1931 3 Claims. (01. 189-23) This invention relates to poles, posts and the like.

In this specification, poles which occur in a straight run, or line, of poles, as distinguished 5 from those which occur at angles or ends, are

called line-poles.

In poles for carrying telegraph wires, for instance, it is usually desired that the strength of each line-pole shall be considerably greater in ii) the direction crosswise oi the wires than in the direction longwise of same. And similarly in wire fences, the strain of holding the wires taut is borne by the end posts, so that the line-posts need but little strength in said direction longwise of the wires, whereas they need much greater strength to resist the pushing of animals in the direction crosswise of the wires.

The present invention provides a novel pole or post made preferably of sheet metal, bent to a cross-section in the form of a wide-open trough, which shape gives great strength in proportion to the quantity of metal used, particularly in the direction crosswise of the pole line.

In so doing, the cross-section is comparatively narrow and sharp in said direction crosswise of the pole-line, whereby the pole is apt to, cut its way through the earth in that direction, unless supplemented by side-plates or the like, to give increased area to bear against the earth. The invention accordingly provides novel means for attaching side-plates to the said narrow edge.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows a line of poles, broken away.

Figs. 2 and 3 show a pole, as viewed, respectively, longwise oi the pole line, and crosswise or same.

Fig. 4 shows, diagrammatically, the bending lines on a blank.

Fig. 5 is a cross-section on line 5-! Fig. 3, showing attachment of side-plate to pole.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of a side-plate.

Fig. '7 is an elevation of a packing block.

Fig. 8 is a top view partly broken away showing attachment of cross arm.

Fig. 9 is a modification, showing a pole partly parallel and partly tapered, viewed longwise oi the pole-line.

Fig. 10 is another modification, showing the invention as applied to a line-post for fencing. It is viewed. crosswise of the fence-line.

Figs. 11 and 12 are enlarged, broken-away views the upper and lower ends respectively of the fence-post, Fig. 12 showing attachment 01' toe-plate.

Fig. 13 isa detail of the strap as used with the fence-post.

And Figs. 14 and 15 are modifications of the cross section of the pole.

Referring to the drawing:- The direction or the pole-line is shown by the succession of line poles I, 2, and 3 in Fig. l, and by the telegraph wires or cables I and 5, Figs. 1,

2', and 3, which wires follow the pole-line.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the line-pole 2 is tapered uniformly from its butt 3 to its top 4'. The blank 5', Fig. 4, shows bending lines 6, 1,. and 8. Along these bending lines the blank is bent to the cross-section 9 shown most clearly in Fig. 5, which section may be described. as a trough, or as a wide-open V with inturned wings, such V having the arms I ii and 'l I, and having the inturned wings l2 and i3. Such wings are preferably parallel with each other, as there shown.

Viewing said trough or V-shaped cross-section 9 as a whole, it is specially to be noted that its width is substantially greater than its depth. Also that, when the pole is erected, the imaginary horizontal cross-line which joins the lips of the trough lies at a right angle to the pole-line.

Said cross-section 9, Fig. 5, continues in the same general shape throughout most of the length of the pole 2, notwithstanding the taper of the pole. Near the top of the pole, however, for convenience in manutacture, the wing-bends indicated by said lines 6 and I, Fig. 4, may be allowed to disappear, whereby the top of the pole may degenerate into the narrower V- or U- shaped cross-section ll shown in Fig. 8. Notwithstanding such change of shape at the top, the cross-section of the pole generally is that of a trough substantially wider than it is deep, as hereinabove described.

Referring to Figs. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7: &

The side-plate I5 is held in place by the strap It in conjunction with the triangular packing block ll. Said strap is roughly'in the form of a staple, embracing the V edgewlse; and said block, fitting against said sloping arm ll of the V, and against the leg ll oi! said strap l6, and against the concave inner surface I! of said sideplate l5, assists said strap in holding said sideplaterigidly at right angles to said imaginary cross-line of the V or trough, notwithstanding the narrowness of the trough in side view, and the fact that said trough contacts uncentrally againstthe side-plate.

Where concrete 2. is used, Fig. 5, the sideplate mechanism described aiiords a strong reinforcement to the concrete, enabling the latter to be built out laterally as shown at 2| and 22, to form a wide face 23 to bear against the earth. But where concrete is not used, said mechanism is eminently suitable for earth alone.

From the foregoing description as a. whole it will be noted that the wide-open V is placed with its greater strength, but narrower earth-face, crosswise of the pole-line, and that the narrow earth-face is then supplemented by the sideplate.

The said telegraph wires 4 and 5, extending, as aforesaid, longwise of the pole-line, are carried upon the cross-arms 24, 25, and 26, which extend crosswise of the pole-line, and are carried, respectively, by said poles I, 2, and 3, Fig. 1. Said cross-arms are attached preferably to the convex faces of the poles, as shown in the drawing; see Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 8, in order to bring them the nearer to the axes of strength of the poles. Such attaching is effected by the cross-arm packing block 2.1, Fig. 8, and the cross-arm strap 28.

In Fig. 1, the poles and 3 have their concave faces to the right, as viewedin the drawing, while the pole 2 has its concave face to the left. Such alternation enables the poles to supplement each other, in respect of strength long-wise of the pole-line, this being desirable because the trough sections herein shown are more easily buckled in the direction toward their concave faces than in the direction toward their convex faces.

Turning to the first modification:-- I

The pole 30, Fig. 9, has its upper portion 3| tapered, and its lower portion 32 parallel.

Turning to the second modification:-

, The fence-post 33, Fig. 10, has its aboveground portion 34 tapered uniformly upward, from a little below the ground-line, and has also its lower portion 35 tapered downward.

This (101' ble-tapered construction is empldyed when the .below-ground portion represents a considerable fraction of the whole length, whereby an appreciable saving of material is effected by such double tapering. But the employment of this construction causes no departure from the spirit of the invention, namely, first, the

use of a wide-open trough section, set astride the fence-line; and, second, the provision of special means for holding a side-plate at right angles to the narrow and unsymmetrical face which the pole thereby presents toward a side plate.

Acoordingly:--In Figs. and 11, the wires 36 show the direction of the fence-line. The sideplate 31 is attached to said fence-post 33 in the same way in which the side-plate I5 is attached to the pole 2, as hereinbefore-described, except that the staple-shaped strap 38, Fig. 13, has permanent heads 39 at its ends, and said strap 38 is inserted through the slot 40 provided in said sideplate 31, until said heads are stopped by the outer face of said side-plate 31. A packing block, not shown, because similar to the packing block |'I, Fig. 5, is then placed in position. And the strap is then threaded over an end of the post and 5 driven tight upon the taper of same.

To supplement the area at the lower end of the post, when this double tapered construction is employed, a toe-plate 4| is employed, attached by the headed toe-plate strap 42, driven 10 on to the taper of the post, until the lower edge 43 of said toe-plate has sprung into the notch 44 provided in the post, to retain the plate.

The ends 45 of said toe-plate are slanted as shown, to facilitate driving.

Turning to the remaining modification's:

Fig. 14 shows a cross-section in which the wings 46 and 41 are bent further inward, past the position of parallelism with eachother; while Fig. 15 shows a cross-section in which the trough 48 is in the form of a true arc.

Also, in Fig. 15, a wider base of attachment is obtained by causing the legs 49 and 50 of the strap 5| todiverge, the triangular block 52 being widened accordingly.

It is obvious that the poles and posts herein shown may be used for other purposes besides carrying wires, especially when greater strength is required in one direction than in another, as, for instance, for the carrying of sign boards.

I claim:

1. A post having a trough shaped cross section formed by'bending a piece of sheet metal to form two sides disposed at an obtuse angle to each other, a thrust plate secured to said post, and extending in a direction substantially at right angles to a plane connecting the edges of the trough, a spacing block engaging a side surface of the post and the rear of the plate and provid-, ing a stable and firm bearing for the plate, and means for securing the post, block and plate together.

2. A wire-supporting structure consisting of a plurality of posts, each made of flat sheet metal bent into a trough of obtuse-angled cross section, with a flange at each edge of said trough and each post oriented to beadapted to support wires which extend in a direction at right angles to a line connecting the outer edges of the trough, whereby the resistance of said posts against bending transversely to the direction of the wires is materially greater than if the said wires extended parallel to the said line. I

3. A wire-supporting structure as defined in claim 2, wherein the successive posts have the 55 open sides of the troughs facing alternately in opposite directions.

G. HUTCHINSON. 

